Child's Play
by LovingPillow
Summary: They were playing a child's game. Only she knew how wrong the game could turn out to be. After all, you had to kill, be killed, and see people be killed in order to understand the life of a shinobi. And hey, she experienced all three.


**Summary: They were playing a child's game. Only she knew how wrong the game could turn out to be. After all, you had to kill, be killed, and see people be killed in order to understand the life of a shinobi. And hey, she experienced all three.**

* * *

She had died alongside her parents.

She had died alongside the town.

But she was still alive, held down by the earth that wouldn't let her leave.

This is the story of Renai Sakura, the girl who survived when rogue-nins murdered her town.

* * *

She had been asleep when several rogue-nins broke into her house. Her father's strangled cries had woken her up. When the door slid open, she hadn't expected to see her mother's head dangling between the air and ground.

"There's a little girl here." The man holding her mother's strands of hair announced, "That man lied to us, saying there were only two of them." His voice was deep, thick, and he had an odd accent she couldn't place. Although she couldn't understand exactly what was happening, she understood that her mother and father were gone; high up from the grounds that laid their bodies to die.

"I'll take the pleasure in killing you." The man had barely moved, but she could feel her eyes rolling backwards, her blood suddenly gushing down her neck. The last she saw before she died was the image of the man who had killed her, leaving with her mother's head dangling beneath his fingers.

* * *

_Why am I alive?_ It was the first thought that popped to the surface when she opened her emerald eyes. She was still staring straight at the doorway, reminding her of the encounter between her mother and the rogue-nin. She choked back a sob, knowing that she was truly alone. Her father was dead, her mother was dead, but she was still alive despite having been killed. Why was she still alive? Hadn't the man killed her when he sliced through her neck? Mentally shaking her head, she slowly heaved herself up from the bed. It wouldn't do any good to think about the irrational things.

_I have to stop this blood._ Holding her hand against her neck, she tread down the hall in search of the bathroom. It was hardly recognizable due to the damage it took from the rogue-nins, but she didn't dare to go back. Making her way to the cabinet, she rummaged around the debris for the rolls of bandages. Once she found it, she carefully unwrapped them so she could wrap her neck. The bandages were wrapped tightly enough to stop her blood from flowing anymore, but loose enough so that she could breathe. "I have to get out of here..." For a second, she thought that someone else had spoken since the words were too soft to hear, but she realized that it was her voice who had spoken. "I can't stay here...but where do I go?" Her parents had no living relatives, and they were separated from the village since her town was in charge of the village's oceanic trade. It was with a dull startle that she realized she had absolutely nowhere to go. Mentally sighing, she left her house with the remaining money and any clothes she could find.

When she stepped outside, the ocean greeted her with its soft blue tones. The only thing she could do was look away because she couldn't stand its innocent colours when red was all it took to stain it.

"Should I go south or should I go east?" She questioned aloud, though her voice was still too soft to be audible. She looked down the paths that would lead her someplace far from the ghost town she now lived in and decided that she would tread where the wind didn't blow. Having finalized her decisions, she set towards the south. Just then, the wind flew against her face and she had to look back so that the wind didn't blow into her eyes. The sight that greeted her was a small boat, and she mused in thought, _I'll go north then._ Walking towards the port, she started climbing onto the boat. She had already thrown her mangled backpack somewhere on the boat, so she didn't have to worry about leaving her belongings behind. Standing near the edge, her small hands tugged the rope loose, it was the only thing that held the boat still. Sitting, she finally noticed two large paddles; they were set in place as if the owner of the boat was about to set out. Grasping the paddles, she started rowing. Having no clue where the boat would lead her, she felt a sudden relief, as if she made the right choice to leave from the north.

It was a good thing too. If she hadn't taken the boat, the next set of rogue-nins (two groups, an hour and forty-two minutes away) would have killed her in cold blood.

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep inside a cove, the boat swaying soundly against the peaceful waves.

It wouldn't be until morning that she woke up crying, her sobs lulling her back to sleep.


End file.
